INTRODUCTION

HER STORY

QUOTES

Her pathological need for money was stemmed by an intense fear of poverty, and her husband granted her increasing power to quell her jealous rage over his liaisons, most notably with a Hollywood B movie actress named Dovie Beams and with Italian starlet Gina Lollobrigida.

She was so fascinated by American celebrities and Hollywood glamour that the likes of Christina Ford, George Hamilton, and Van Cliburn were constant guests to Malacanang Palace (the presidential palace).

In the early 1980s, Mrs. Marcos attempted to make Manila rival Cannes as a world film capital by spearheading the Manila International Film Festival, which had among its guests Brooke Shields and the Italian actor Franco Nero.  It was a short-lived festival (two years), but widely televised featuring an indelible image of Mrs. Marcos in a black gown with diamonds embedded in the skirt.

Mrs. Marcos lives in a comfortable condominium unit at the posh Pacific Plaza Towers along the swank Ayala Avenue in Makati, the elite enclave of Metro Manila.

Mrs. Marcos has around ten grandsons. The eldest, Borgy Marcos Manotoc, son of Congresswoman Imee Marcos, is a celebrity in his own right. He now is a popular ramp/commercial model in Manila and is a sought after young bachelor. He is based in New York taking up an economics degree.

Imelda Marcos still has many admirers in her country. The film entitled "Imelda" by Ramona Diaz, which won in some category at the Sun Dance Film Festival once again rekindled the awe or amazement many Filipinos and foreigners feel regarding the life story of Imelda Marcos.

The names of her children are Congresswoman Maria Imelda "Imee" R. Marcos of Ilocos Norte, Governor Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. of Ilocos Norte and Mrs. Irene Marcos-Araneta who married Gregorio Araneta in 1983.

Some of the mad things she has done include building a whole palace out of coconuts for the Pope to stay in (the Pope refused to stay, because it was too extravagant) and giving Prince Charles a speedboat with no engine in it.

Her children have been spotted wearing T-shirts that say, "Don't blame my Dad. Blame my Mom!"

Was once referred to by a Bloomingdale's sales assistant as the Mine girl!  One day she and her elite friends came to Bloomingdale's, New York to do some shopping. They asked for the whole store to be shut down so they didn't have to worry about nosy media ... then they started shopping. It was easy, they just pointed at whatever they fancied and told the assigned sales assistants, "Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine."

More than 1,000 of Manila's elite turned up to attend her 70th birthday party - too many to let in to the official party. Imelda was escorted by her Hollywood actor friend George Hamilton and was wearing her trademark pink gown with butterfly sleeves.

The Philippines' shoemaking capital of Marikina has acquired 200 pairs of shoes from her famed collection for a new shoe museum. They include one pair with gold trim, another studded with rhinestones and two pairs of knee-high boots.

She said she once saw a New York shoe shop poster saying: "There is a little Imelda in all of us."

She owned 3,000 pairs of shoes (size 8 1/2), one of which was a pair of plastic disco sandals with three inch high flashing battery operated heels.